The Dawn of the New World

The Puer had almost the exact ability, only it didn't need to die to send information back to its past self.

Hao Xuan got used to it much faster this time around without even letting down his guard.

Without making it obvious, he looked up at the ceiling and saw the bird ether beast quietly watching him. It was looking for an opportunity to strike, its body already coiled back like a snake.

'I need to get away from that thing and then deal with these hounds...'

He recalled the direction Tasgall had come to him the first time and slowly moved there while keeping his guard up.

The ability of the Nightmare Hounds had a much weaker effect once the target was aware of it, and Hao Xuan was. In his last moments he had seen some kind of energy releasing from the gems on their bodies so this time he was prepared.

One minute, two minutes, before the third minute ended Hao Xuan saw Tasgall's silhouette appearing from behind the cascading beasts.

'Good! I died right about now the first time so the future did chang-'

Hao Xuan's inner monologue was cut short when he tried to raise his foot and felt a weight bringing it down. Looking down he saw that more than half of his body was already covered in a thick muddy substance that was coming to his chest now.

"What the shit!"

He tried ripping off pieces and throwing it away but there was far too much of it and within a few seconds it had already reached his face. Left with no option he tried to activate his Qi in full force but soon as it came up to his skin it simply disappeared into the mud.

The last thing he saw was Tasgall's horrified expression before the mud completely covered every part of his body, even entering his body through various orifices. Once inside, the mud started expanding.

He lasted no more than 10 seconds before his body popped like a balloon.

*GASP*

Hao Xuan opened his eyes to the same scene for the fourth time now. This time he was much, MUCH calmer.

He quickly closed his eyes and felt for the energy shield that was surroundings his brain.

'It has gotten weaker.'

He could tell with just a single internal scan. The energy he had felt after his first death was much stronger than this.

'Is it reduced with every death? Every time I'm sent back it gets a little weaker until it completely disappears at which point it's...the end.'

Hao Xuan looked at the Nightmare Hounds, the bird beast, and the source of his last demise, the canine ether beast that was so far away that he couldn't even see it. But it was obviously keeping tabs on him somehow.

"I know what needs to be done but...I don't know if I have the strength to do it..."

He needed to be sure how his ability work so he could make an appropriate plan. Keeping a mental note of the energy level of the spatiotemporal field around his brain, Hao Xuan grit his teeth before with a loud shout-

*Crack*

He twisted his own head off his body, killing himself before anyone else could.

*GASP*

Hao Xuan closed his eyes as soon as the memories came flooding back and ran another internal scan.

The spatiotemporal field had barely gotten any weaker.

'If it's not with every death, it has to be time. The field is only going to last for a set amount of time before disappearing and during that time the memories will be sent to this exact point in time after each death.'

This was the fifth time. Three deaths from the beasts, one of his accord.

Hao Xuan looked at the nearing Nightmare Hounds with a ruthless expression, "One way or another, I'm making it out of here."

Or so he said but it was not easy to break the circle of life and death. It would take a strong enough willpower to put up with each death without losing his mind and no small amount of ingenuity to boot.

'There HAS to be a way,' he told himself. If he was ever going to find it though, that was a different story.

"ARGH!"

Raising both his arms in front of him Hao Xuan charged towards the direction of the barbarians thinking together they would be able to make a difference.

*SLAM*

*Snap*

*Skuelch*

*Crash*

*Crunch*

.

.

.

*GASP*

But before he could even meet them, he had already died more than 15 times. Each death a little different, a little more gruesome than the one before as he tried new and different methods of escaping this little bubble of hell he had inadvertently created for himself.

His body was the same but his mind, that was a different story.